C-Class (W203) 2001-2007, C160, C180, C200, C220, C230, C240, C270, C280, C300, C320, C230K, C350, Coupe

How does this even happen to a tire???

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Old 03-07-2013, 08:09 PM
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How does this even happen to a tire???

So after starting the day off locking my keys in the car yesterday, I of course had to end it with this crazyness. This is my front drivers side tire. I have no idea how or what happened. The pics dont do it justice its even gnarlier in person. What a day......
Attached Thumbnails How does this even happen to a tire???-img_20130307_170254.jpg   How does this even happen to a tire???-img_20130307_170513.jpg   How does this even happen to a tire???-img_20130307_170648.jpg   How does this even happen to a tire???-img_20130307_170829.jpg  
Old 03-07-2013, 08:40 PM
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Cheap tires + almost no tread = bad BBP!
Old 03-07-2013, 09:12 PM
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Nankang tires??? I never heard of them till now. Now I'll know not to get them!
Old 03-07-2013, 09:42 PM
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haha chinese tires on a german car...works everytime
Old 03-07-2013, 10:11 PM
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Looks like you hit a pot hole or bump hard and warped the tire
Old 03-07-2013, 10:28 PM
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Yea my buddy said its the tirewall seperating, and its a defective tire. idk. They werent the most expensive or the cheapest, 160 per I think. I wish i could afford Perilli or somethin like that. But DEF not buying these again.
Old 03-07-2013, 10:30 PM
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2002 C320
225/35/19 if curious
Old 03-07-2013, 10:40 PM
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It is a bruise from running over something making an impact to the side wall. That tire is also overloaded.

Low profile tires are a fashion statement, and as you have discovered, not cheap. Put some stock wheel sized rims, and get a set of Michelin or Nitto's to have happy motoring.

Perilli (I think he means Pirelli ) has not made good tires since Italty ruled the world.
Old 03-08-2013, 12:25 AM
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Originally Posted by Moviela
It is a bruise from running over something making an impact to the side wall. That tire is also overloaded.

Low profile tires are a fashion statement, and as you have discovered, not cheap. Put some stock wheel sized rims, and get a set of Michelin or Nitto's to have happy motoring.

Perilli (I think he means Pirelli ) has not made good tires since Italty ruled the world.
It's not just one area of the tire though. Its' got 3-4 separate areas that look almost dented in. Maybe I didnt explain it very well and its hard to show in pics. But each pic is actually from acompletely different area of the tire. Running over something could do that? Not sure I quite understand how. I could see if it was a section of the tire. But its more warped looking. But again I know close to nothing on the subject. So im differing to the more experienced on these things.
Old 03-08-2013, 12:43 AM
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Originally Posted by Moviela

Low profile tires are a fashion statement
The whole car is only a fashion/style statement. Nothing more. Matte black isnt exactly easier to maintain. To be honest, it's a real pain in the *** and barely worth the trouble. I wouldnt recommend it. I know I'm in the minority when it comes to this, but I really have no interest in performance aspect of cars. Once you lift the hood its all a foreign language to me. I've never added one thing for performance sake. And probably have done a whole lot of things that made that aspect worse even. But for me it's about being able to be creative and share ideas as well as seeing others. Not that I dont see the appeal, for the other stuff as well and respect it. It just doesnt do it for me. To each his own I guess.
Old 03-08-2013, 01:15 AM
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It does look overloaded now. But at first i couldnt tell what was wrong. The car was just pulling to the left. You can't see the damage with the wheel on, so I thought to check the air first and it was only at 36psi, which was maybe 5 min before i took it off and saw this. One blow can do this to 3 different sides of a tire?
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Old 03-08-2013, 07:37 AM
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man....just bite the bullet and get better tires. Atleast some Hankooks.
Old 03-08-2013, 10:12 AM
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I've been driving with a damaged rear-right tire for over 8 months now. The interior sidewall has multiple cracks and leaks about 2psi/day...but all I have to do is pump it back up before driving distance and all is good.

Your tire on the other hand looks like something more than just sidewall damage...shouldn't warp like that unless the tire is complete crap.

Like someone upstairs said, do yourself a favor and get a new set of tires before something bad happens.

By the way, cool ride man.

Last edited by Crna Mechka; 03-08-2013 at 10:15 AM.
Old 03-08-2013, 11:59 AM
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Originally Posted by ncmudbug
Nankang tires???
Most likely yes. My daughter's W203 also has 19" Nankangs that were put on by the PO. Two tires had tread separation just like the one in OP's case in a matter of just a few weeks from each others.

LOTS of tread still left on them, but the construction just sucks. Since I was pretty sure the remaining two will do the same soon, I replaced them all.

EDIT: Checked OP's pictures more closely and yes, his tires is exactly the same Nankang model my daughters car had. Get rid of all of them asap. You'll be much better off.

Last edited by TexFinn; 03-08-2013 at 02:52 PM.
Old 03-08-2013, 01:46 PM
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Looks like the tire areas are ballooning, which means the rubber is stretching, internal layers separating, etc. I wouldn't drive on these anymore unless you are planning to replace your rims and possibly fenders as well

Fyi this happened to one of my stock tires a couple of years after I purchased the car ... yes it was one of the new tires on the car from the factory ... so even good tires can have this problem.

Last edited by jkowtko; 03-08-2013 at 07:10 PM.
Old 03-08-2013, 01:49 PM
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I drive a Toyota Hybrid...
Diamondback make the best tire, i had them on my benz a set of 4 for $350 shipped to my house brand new, they were good at making sure your car traction control have to be blinking everytime you drive
Old 03-08-2013, 02:33 PM
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FYI- Those 'fix a flat' aerosol cans will cause your tread to separate.
People don't seem to know that.
Thats bad, get a new tire quick before a blow out occurs.

This is why I still have 17's.
Old 03-08-2013, 02:36 PM
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That is a direct carcass delamination.
Old 03-08-2013, 06:07 PM
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I drive a Toyota Hybrid...
Originally Posted by C230 Sport Coup
FYI- Those 'fix a flat' aerosol cans will cause your tread to separate.
People don't seem to know that.
Thats bad, get a new tire quick before a blow out occurs.

This is why I still have 17's.
http://www.hlntv.com/article/2012/07...eal-ron-morris
Old 03-08-2013, 09:08 PM
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white and whiter
Originally Posted by Blackbradpitt
Yea my buddy said its the tirewall seperating, and its a defective tire. idk. They werent the most expensive or the cheapest, 160 per I think. I wish i could afford Perilli or somethin like that. But DEF not buying these again.
Can happen to any brand and any model of tire when you hit potholes and tear the inner plies of the side wall.

Nankang are decent taiwanese tires. They even sponsor local club races in taiwan.
Old 03-09-2013, 03:05 AM
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hankook are great tires, high tread wear rating. also yokohama even higher tread wear rating, very reasonably priced, hankook fr. 95.00each rear 120.00each 420 treadwear rating. tis what i have on both of mine, gonna see how well they hold up, so far so good 1year on fronts, 6 months on rears, may try yokohama they have even higher treadwear rating 510 i think bout 15 to 20 dollars more a tire is all.
Old 03-09-2013, 09:17 AM
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its hard to compare tire treadwear ratings because each manufacturer uses a different test to get the treadwear. I believe there are 3 different tests that companies can use. So one company's ratings might be different to anothers.A 300 treadwear could be 250 on another company's chart. also you cant just list brands and say they have high tread rating. Each tire is different from summer tires to all season. all season tires usually have a higher treadwear compared to summer because of the tire compound is softer so it heats up faster for the summer tires so they become stickier and grip faster.

Hankook v12 evos are a good bang for the buck summer tire that many members on here can atest to. Michelin are higher in price but great tires for our cars. Usually Continential arent reviewed very well for our cars but the DWS and DW are great tires, I currently have the DWS and love them.

Just do research and depending where you are what type of tire you'll need. If you're in cali and places that dont snow a lot a good summer tire is probably good enough. more up north you can look at an all season tire.
Old 03-09-2013, 09:56 AM
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Spot on ~ wise advice!
Old 03-09-2013, 12:23 PM
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Nothing wrong with Conti's DWS except the better tires come from Germany. The ones from Mexico and Brazil can be made with different formula containing more polyester.

German tires are made with Nylon. This is an unusual plastic in that it does not expand when heated. It actually contracts. This makes the tire hold the rim better, and keeps the belts and cords in place.

Look on the side wall to make sure all your tires come from the same country.
Old 03-09-2013, 01:57 PM
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Yes. The Conti's to be watched with this chassis are the Sport Contact range. Noisy as hell.


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